Book publisher finds business success by supporting her community

A steep learning curve and the pandemic didn’t stop an ambitious Latina publisher from building her dream company

After signing a contract to publish her first Spanish-language book with a major publisher, Jacqueline Torres was surprised to discover that the company didn’t have any editors on staff who were proficient in Spanish. This experience inspired her to start her own bilingual publishing house.

“I started Manuscritos Publishing because being able to see yourself and your culture in books is important for readers of all ages and backgrounds,” says Torres. “It is an opportunity for me to make a difference in my community by inviting Spanish-language writers with unique stories to share with the market.”

The Manchester, CT-based publishing house creates its own books for both English- and Spanish-speaking readers and helps new authors publish their work. Manuscritos Publishing is a winner of a 2022 Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award, a recognition of its success and impact on the community.

Torres recently shared her tips for other ambitious business owners who want to be ready for what’s ahead.

Tip: Be ready to learn about all aspects of your business

Whether you’re running an established business or starting a new venture, you may need to acquire new skills or knowledge. When Torres founded Manuscritos Publishing in 2019, she had 20-plus years of business experience, including work as an interpreter, a leadership coach and educator, and had written or co-authored six books, such as “Leadership: Helping Others to Succeed.” Still, she was willing to admit she had a lot to learn, and this attitude contributed to her ability to reach her business goals.

Early in her journey to create Manuscritos Publishing, Torres quickly realized there was much more to book publishing than just writing and editing manuscripts. For example, she had to find bilingual editors and learn about formatting copy, proofreading, book design and distribution. At first it was intimidating because of how much there was to learn, but by focusing systematically on the different parts of the process, she gradually built the necessary expertise. Torres conducted online research to learn about important business considerations for self-publishers versus traditional publishers, and spoke with local bookstore owners to learn about how to serve their needs with her titles. Torres also contacted Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a partner organization to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which assigned her a mentor with valuable book publishing expertise.

Today, Manuscritos Publishing focuses on non-fiction and self-help titles. So far, it has published four books from Connecticut- and Florida-based writers and has projects in the works with five new authors. The company uses Amazon’s print-on-demand technology to keep costs in check and still be able to deliver books to customers quickly. This on-demand publishing approach reduces how much inventory the company needs to hold and frees up resources for other uses. Even though Amazon is a book publisher and therefore a competitor, Torres thinks of it as an ally.

Manuscritos Publishing receives manuscripts from authors around the world and has developed a comprehensive set of offerings to support them, from manuscript evaluation to editing and design. The company also promotes its authors through its website, posts on social media and in community newspapers. This end-to-end approach is helping the company thrive and Torres credits her willingness to learn as an important aspect of her success.

“I could have looked at my lack of knowledge as a roadblock, but I saw it as an opportunity,” Torres explains.

Bottom line: Be open to acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to start or build your dream business. Stay confident during this process by reminding yourself of the capabilities you currently possess. Focusing on the fact that learning new skills doesn’t mean you aren’t capable — it just means that you are open to learning what is required to succeed

Map out what you need to know and then create a plan to acquire that knowledge one step at a time. Expect to spend time looking at many different sources of information. “It was time-consuming, and I had to wade through a lot of information to find what I needed,” says Torres. “I looked at everything from downloadable guides on starting a business to blogs about publishing to find what I needed to know about the business.”

Tip: Map your business plans to market needs

Business success requires that you meet the demands of your market, even if those evolve. Pre-COVID 19 pandemic, Torres had plans to open a physical storefront. “We were well on our way, looking at locations with high traffic and good visibility,” she says. “Then, in March 2020, everything changed, and we suddenly needed to roll in a different direction.”

Torres says her willingness to quickly change plans, rather than continuing with her original storefront dream, led to her success. She quickly researched how an e-commerce platform could generate revenue from authors and customers. She learned that she could work with graphic designers to create images tying into both books and the experience of writing. By selling mugs, t-shirts, posters and greeting cards through the Manuscritos Publishing website and third-party custom publishing sites such as RedBubble, she devised a new company direction and an ongoing source of revenue.

The new products became a significant line of business, and now account for 70% of Manuscritos Publishing’s revenue. “Moving to e-commerce actually gave us a competitive edge,” she says. “Now we have an additional revenue source, aside from our books, that we can continue to build to support our progress.”

Bottom line: Keep your company in line with market trends by creating a schedule for regularly evaluating your business plans against market needs. Track what the market wants by talking to customers, monitoring competitor activity and staying informed on your industry through trade groups. Be willing to recognize and accept when the market evolves. Then, consider what new products or services you can create based on what you’ve learned your audience wants to buy.

Tip: Line up financing before you need it

Every business requires the right financial support for day-to-day expenses, and to be ready for unexpected challenges and opportunities.

When Torres first started Manuscritos Publishing she relied on loans and a line of credit (LOC) to get started. She also tried to keep her rainy-day fund full, even when it was challenging to do so. “I try to have the equivalent of at least six months of rent saved to make sure we can pay our bills,” she explains.

Torres also worked closely with Citizens to set up essential functions like merchant services to accept electronic payments. “It gave me a sense of peace to know that I had a banking partner that complemented what my mission stood for, had professional ethics and wanted my business to be successful,” she explains.

Bottom line: Saving money can be difficult for a new business facing myriad expenses and limited revenue, but striving to build some savings creates a cushion to cover unexpected expenses or weather a downturn in business. Seek financial support for fluctuating cash flow via a LOC or credit card, and secure financing to be ready for important business opportunities and unforeseen expenses. The best time to seek financing is before you are in a cash crunch or have a pressing need.

Tip: Maintain visibility with your customers

Raising the visibility of your product or service among potential buyers is essential for success. As Manuscritos Publishing shifted to an e-commerce strategy during the pandemic, having a bilingual website that people could find easily in online searches was imperative. Building a relationship with customers via social media was also a priority. To achieve these objectives, Torres hired outside help to help her boost the publishing house’s visibility and promote its books.

“Continuous marketing and sales must be a priority, even though there are many tasks that require your attention,” says Torres.

Torres boosts her visibility by continuously being on the lookout for ways to find new audiences. Two of her tactics are participating in local events and finding new distribution venues. For example, to find fresh venues for distribution, she contacted Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island libraries to ask if Manuscritos Publishing books were on their shelves. If the answer was “no,” she donated titles to those libraries.

“I observed a scarcity of Spanish-language books in libraries and at universities, and I wanted to further our mission of bringing attention to Latino literature,” she says. “Reaching out to libraries was just another way of opening up our business to the community.”

Bottom line: Look for creative ways to create and maintain visibility with prospects and customers. For instance, discover which social media channels they use and establish a presence in those channels. In addition to posting about your business, it’s important to also listen to what they are saying — their feedback can give you valuable data about what is and isn’t working about your product or service. Offline, get involved in community events and create a real-world connection to help build a relationship with your business.

Tip: Be willing to take risks

It’s scary to face risks, but fearing failure may hold you back, says Torres. “Making mistakes and facing some failure is all a part of learning and exploring new possibilities,” Torres says about her philosophy.

For Manuscritos Publishing in 2022, risk taking will include expanding to a larger storefront to accommodate in-person sales and recruiting new staff. This expansion will support Torres’ goal of working with at least 10 new authors this year, running book fairs dedicated to promoting literature to families, and offering online workshops to help Latino writers become published authors.

During good times and bad, she says, it’s important to stay focused on what is special about your business. “Everyone is challenged in different ways,” she says. “Your business — and your success — will be unique to you.”

Bottom line: Stay focused on your goals during ups and downs. It can be intimidating to try something new, but for entrepreneurs who work hard and concentrate on their goals, the results can be rewarding. “When I started, there was a lot to learn, but I didn’t let myself get discouraged,” Torres says. “I focused on my mission to elevate Latino literature, and that felt bigger than myself. It was important for my community, and I let that passion keep me going.”